The lack of guarantees to exercise the vote in the Pacific Region of Colombia, especially in the Pacific Coast, as well as the violation of human rights and the high presence of armed groups in the region, among other factors, increase the risk of a possible electoral fraud on June 19.
According to a report prepared by the Lawyers' Campaign for Free Elections in the Pacific ?Pacific Vote-This is also evident in the composition of multiple factors and dynamics, such as the high presence and control by various armed groups, such as the ELN, El Clan del Golfo, residual groups of the FARC and Los Pelusos.
In addition, the territory presents alarming numbers of human rights violations, high rates of Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN), as well as a high and extreme risk of monetary poverty in almost all of the 62 municipalities of the Pacific Coast, which increases the vulnerability of the inhabitants of this region to be captives of clientelism, electoral machines and vote buying.
In this sense, the Lawyers Campaign said to be on alert about the multiple complaints that have been received in the face of the second presidential round. "Since May 29 (first round) to date, a high number of human rights violations have been evidenced in 20 days, a situation that puts at risk the integrity of the civilian population in the Pacific and the effective exercise of the right to vote".
In addition, Voto Pacifico pointed out that 88 leaders and human rights defenders have been murdered in the country this year, while nine have been murdered since the first presidential round, of which five belong to the Pacific region, two to the department of Cauca and three in Valle.
"To the above, we must add the alert and critical situation in the north of the department of Cauca, with serious allegations of human rights violations, due to the growing number of violent acts against the indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant population, creating an atmosphere of terror and permanent insecurity in the whole area".
All of this, he added, has "materialized in a femicide in the town of Mondomo and a double homicide in the same border area, between the municipalities of Santander de Quilichao and Buenos Aires, in the village of Las Lajas of the La Concepción reservation, on June 12, and finally, the murder of a 15 year old minor with signs of torture, in the Las Delicias reservation".
Thus, it indicated that such human rights violations in the Pacific aggravate the situation in the run-up to the elections and, as a Campaign, it urged the Colombian State to guarantee their protection in an imperative manner in that region, not only for the exercise of the constitutional right to vote, but also for the full dignity of all the inhabitants of the country.
Citizen complaints
The Lawyers' Campaign pointed out that the role of the citizenship has been transcendental for the present elections, since from the first moment they have actively participated, which has allowed to feed the documents and reports that are of public knowledge.
Among these complaints was one received on June 15 of this year, in which the community councils of the municipality of Nóvita, Chocó, reported that the ELN imposed restrictions on mobility and freedom of movement on the entire civilian population after 6:00 p.m., as a result of several clashes between illegal armed groups near the village of Tambito.
Since that day, more than 40 young people have also been detained in the city of Cali, who are part of social processes that arose as a result of the mobilizations of the 2020 national strike; while social leader Omar Delgado was released after being kidnapped on Sunday, June 12 in the city of Buenaventura.
Electoral Risk
One day before the elections, the Campaign also expressed its concern after learning that the verification of the electoral software of the National Registrar's Office, headed by the Registrar Alexander Vega, was once again denied.
"This does not allow the necessary guarantees to be granted to the entire electorate; additionally, the electoral risks of which the MOE had manifested in past elections persist".
Among the risks, they highlighted that around 290 municipalities in the country are at high and extreme risk of electoral fraud or limitation to the exercise of suffrage.
Of the above, 84 municipalities are at extreme risk of suffering violence against the civilian population - illegal armed groups GAI - of which 42 are in the Pacific Region: 16 in Cauca, 14 in Nariño, 9 in Chocó and 3 in Valle.
Meanwhile, 206 municipalities are at high risk and 38 of them belong to the Pacific: 12 in Valle, 11 in Nariño, 10 in Chocó and 5 in Cauca.
All this "violates the right to vote of the communities throughout the Pacific, especially in the Littoral - 62 municipalities - a sample of the racialized and unequal democracy in Colombia". The aforementioned, he pointed out, materializes the lack of guarantees that afflict the Colombian Pacific region, somatizing the fear of the civilian population in the face of the upcoming electoral elections.
In contrast, for the first presidential round, the situation was no different and all this was evidenced by the high level of abstentionism, in all the Pacific Coast it reached 55.65 percent and the territories with the highest rate in each department of the Pacific were Bagadó, Chocó ?71 percent?, Buenaventura in Valle ?60 percent?, López de Micay in Cauca ?66.57 percent? and Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé in Nariño ?72.08 percent?
"This Campaign maintains and will maintain vigilance and oversight not only on the possible electoral fraud, but also on the protection and defense of human rights in the Pacific and the Litoral sub-region. The defense of life and democracy is an imperative of this Campaign together with all the lawyers who are part of the process and who want an effective change in this nation".
This article was produced with the support of a group of journalists covering the second round of the elections in Colombia, sponsored by the organization Global Exchange in collaboration with Peninsula 360 Press.
You may be interested in: Montes de María, Colombia: between voting and death
